Self-adhesive closure

ABSTRACT

A flexible web product having a plurality of strip-carried closure webs which may be removed from one portion of the strip and with another portion of the strip to provide an exposed portion of a pressure-sensitive surface on the closure web and a shielded portion of that surface. The exposed portion may then be applied to a portion of an article to be fastened and the shield may be removed later to expose the remaining pressure-sensitive adhesive so that the remaining pressure-sensitive adhesive of the closure web may be applied to another portion of the article to be fastened or to a different article.

United States Patent [191 Chapman SELF-ADHESIVE CLOSURE [75] Inventor: John C. Chapman, Western Springs,

[73] Assignee: Avery Products Corporation, San

Marino, Calif.

22 Filed: July 26,1973

211 App]. No.: 382,755

[52] U.S. Cl. 428/42; 428/41; 428/44; 428/47; 428/79 [51] Int. Cl B32b 3/14 [58] Field of Search 161/406, 36, 38, 39, 167; 128/287; 93/].1

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,765,205 10/1956 Capella et al. 161/406 X 3,663,343 5/1972 Buck l6l/l45 X [451 May 20, 1975 3,776,234 12/1973 Hoey 128/287 Primary Examiner-William E. Schulz Attorney, Agent, or F irmMcNenny, Farrington, Pearne & Gordon [5 7] ABSTRACT A flexible web product having a plurality of stripcarried closure webs which may be removed from one portion of the strip and with another portion of the strip to provide an exposed portion of a pressuresensitive surface on the closure web and a shielded portion of that surface. The exposed portion may then be applied to a portion of an article to be fastened and the shield may be removed later to expose the remaining pressure-sensitive adhesive so that the remaining pressure-sensitive adhesive of the closure web may be applied to another portion of the article to be fastened or to a different article.

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures SELF-ADHESIVE CLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to closure webs or tabs having a pressure-sensitive adhesive surface on one face and which are carried in a row on a carrier web. Closure tabs or webs are employed to join portions of articles together and such webs or tabs have beenextensively used as fasteners for disposable diapers and disposable or non-disposable hospital gowns and caps.

An example of such a closure arrangement is shown in copending application Ser. No. 338,374, filed Mar. 5, 1973, which is a continuing application with respect to Ser. No. 50,743, filed June 29, 1970 and now abandoned. In the copending application, there is disclosed a laminate which is adhered to one portion of a web and then divaricated along a portion of its length to expose a pressure-sensitive adhesive portion of the face web. The exposed adhesive portion of the face web may then be applied to another portion of the same web or to a portion of a different web. The remaining non-divaricated portion of the laminate is securely adhered to the first-mentioned web portion. This construction is primarily suited for application on the article to be fastened by a processor for a later joining operation by the user. Thus, for use as a joining tab on disposable diapers, the tab would be applied by the diaper manufacturer for a later joining operation by the user.

There exists a need for closure webs or tabs which may be supplied to the user in dispensable form on a carrier web so that the user may remove tabs from the carrier web and apply them to the desired portions of articles. A laminate which carries a plurality of such closure members or tabs is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,663,343. In that patent, there is shown a closure web dispensing arrangement which includes a carrier strip having an upwardly facing release-coated strip superposed thereon and fixed thereto by a cement strip. The release-coated sheet material carries an elongated flexible tape having a pressure-sensitive adhesive in contact therewith and the release-coated strip is slit so that the tape bridges the slit. Transverse slits are cut through the tape and through the release-coated strip so that those transverse slits extend across the longitudinal slit and into the area of the release-coated strip adhered to the carrier strip. The longitudinal slit permits removal of tape sections having a portion of their pressure-sensitive adhesive coated faces exposed and another portion of that adhesive shielded by the release-coated strip. The remaining portions of the slit, release-coated strip remain fixed to the carrier strip by the cement strip.

The laminate as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,663,343 includes three superposed webs with the carrier web serving to ensure that portions of the release-coated web will not be removed by the tape in locations be-. yond the longitudinal slit.

3 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention provides a pressure-sensitive fastener storage and dispensing means which permits stripcarried closure webs to be removed from one portion of the strip and with another portion of the strip to pro-- be removed later to expose the remaining pressuresensitive adhesive so that the remaining pressuresensitive adhesive of the closure web may be applied to another portion of the article to be fastened or to a different article.

According to this invention, the pressure-sensitive fastener storage and dispensing means comprises an elongated carrier web strip having a release-coated surface and a plurality of closure webs in a row along the length of the web strip. Each closure web has a pressure-sensitive adhesive face adhered to the releasecoated strip surface and the strip has a longitudinal slit along its length separating the strip into first and second strip portions, with the closure webs bridging those portions. Only the second portion of the strip has a plurality of transverse cross-slits or notches extending to but not beyond the longitudinal split to separate the second portion of the strip into a plurality of discrete carrier strips each backing one portion of its own closure web. Since the transverse cross-slits or notches extend to but not beyond the longitudinal split, the first portion of the strip is self-supporting and therefore provides the sole support for the closure webs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flexible web product according to this invention, with a few closure webs removed from the carrier web and one closure web removed from the carrier web;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view, the plane of the section being indicated by the line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view, the plane of the section being indicated by the line 3-3 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an edge view of a closure web applied to one portion of an article with portions of its pressuresensitive surface shielded by a removed portion of the carrier strip; and

FIG. 5 is an edge view of a closure web showing the web joining an article.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings, a flexible web product 10 is disclosed. The flexible web product 10 comprises an elongated carrier web or strip 11 having a release-coated surface 12. A number of appropriate release coatings or low adhesion coatings are known in the art. Examples of such coatings are set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 2,885,554. The strip 11 carries a plurality of closure webs 13 arranged in a row along the length of the carrier strip 11. Each of the closure webs 13 has a pressure-sensitive adhesive coating 14 on one face thereof and that face is temporarily and releasably adhered to the release-coated surface 12 of the carrier strip 1 1.

The carrier strip 11 is provided with a longitudinal split 15 along its length and the split 15 separates the carrier strip into first and second strip portions 16 and 17, respectively, with the closure webs 13 bridging those portions. The second strip portion 17 is provided with a plurality of transverse slits or notches 18 which extend to but not beyond the longitudinal split 15 to separate the second portion 17 into a plurality of discrete carrier strips 19 each backing one portion 20 of its own closure web 13.

As illustrated .in FIG. 3, each closure web 13 may be separately lifted from the first carrier strip portion 16 I to expose the pressure-sensitive adhesive coating which 3 contacted the strip portion 16, while the discrete carrier strip 19 associated with the portion 20 of the closure web shields the remaining pressure-sensitive adhesive'coatingrThis assemblymay then be applied to av portion of an article 21 which is to be joined to another portion of that article or to a different article, as indicated in FIG. 4. When the closure is to be made, the discrete carrier strip 19 is removed from the portion 20 of the carrier web 13 to expose the remaining pressuresensitive adhesive and another portion 22 of the article 21 (or a different article) is adhered to the remaining exposed pressure-sensitive adhesive.

It may be noted that the closure webs are spaced from each other along the carrier strip and are spaced from the slits or notches 18to minimize any bleeding of adhesive to adjacent, underlying closure webs 13 when the flexible web product is dispensed from a roll,

.as illustrated in FIG. 1.

Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail, various modifications and rearrangements of parts may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A flexible web product comprising an elongated carrier web strip having a release-coated surface, a plurality of closure webs in a row along the length of said web strip, each of said closure webs having a pressuresensitive adhesive face adhered to said release-coated surface, said strip having a longitudinal split along its length separating said strip into first and second strip portions with said closure webs bridging said portions, only said second'portion having a plurality of transverse cross slits or notches extending to but not beyond said longitudinal split and separating said second portion into a plurality of discrete carrier strips each backing one portion of its own closure web;

2. A flexible web product according to claim '1, wherein said closure webs are spaced from each other in said row.

4 3. A flexible web product according to claim 2, wherein said closure webs are spaced from adjacent slits or notches.

- I 4. Pressure-sensitive fastener storage and dispensing means comprising an elongated carrier web with a lengthwise slit extending therealong to divide the carrier web into two side-by-side web sections, transverse slits or notches extending from one edge of said carrier web to said lengthwise slit to divide one of said side-byside web sections lengthwise into a discontinuous web section comprising a succession of separate segments, the other web section of the carrier web being continuous, a plurality of closure webs each having a face provided with pressure-sensitive adhesive, said closure webs being disposed along said carrier web each with its said face shielded by and in temporary releasable adhering contact with said carrier web, each of said do sure webs extending across said lengthwise slit to temporarily fasten said side-by-side web sections together to provide the sole support for said web sections and to temporarily support said succession of separate segments, the portions of said closure webs that are on the discontinuous web section extending between said transverse slits or notches whereby said separate seg- -ments of said discontinuous web section may be separately lifted to separately peel associated closure webs from said continuous web section to thereby separate them and expose the portions of their pressuresensitive adhesive faces which were in contact with said continuous web section while continuing to shield the portions which temporarily remain in contact with said separate segments of said discontinuous web section.

5. Pressure-sensitive fastener storage and dispensing means according to claim 4, wherein said closure webs are spaced from each other along said carrier web.

6. Pressure-sensitive fastener storage and dispensing means according to claim 5, wherein said closure webs are spaced from adjacent slits or notches.

Disclaimer 3,885,070.-J07m 0. Chapman, Western Springs, 111. SELF-ADHESIVE CLOSURE. Patent dated May 20, 197 5. Disclaimer filed Nov. 28, 1975, by the assignee, Avery Products Corporation. Hereby enters this disclaimer to all claims of said patent.

[Oyficial Gazette Februawy 10, 1976.] 

1. A flexible web product comprising an elongated carrier web strip having a release-coated surface, a plurality of closure webs in a row along the length of said web strip, each of said closure webs having a pressure-sensitive adhesive face adhered to said release-coated surface, said strip having a longitudinal split along its length separating said strip into first and second strip portions with said closure webs bridging said portions, only said second portion having a plurality of transverse cross slits or notches extending to but not beyond said longitudinal split and separating said second portion into a plurality of discrete carrier strips each backing one portion of its own closure web.
 2. A flexible web product according to claim 1, wherein said closure webs are spaced from each other in said row.
 3. A flexible web product according to claim 2, wherein said closure webs are spaced from adjacent slits or notches.
 4. Pressure-sensitive fastener storage and dispensing means comprising an elongated carrier web with a lengthwise slit extending therealong to divide the carrier web into two side-by-side web sections, transverse slits or notches extending from one edge of said carrier web to said lengthwise slit to divide one of said side-by-side web sections lengthwise into a discontinuous web section comprising a succession of separate segments, the other web section of the carrier web being continuous, a plurality of closure webs each having a face provided with pressure-sensitive adhesive, said closure webs being disposed along said carrier web each with its said face shielded by and in temporary releasable adhering contact with said carrier web, each of said closure webs extending across said lengthwise slit to temporarily fasten said side-by-side web sections together to provide the sole support for said web sections and to temporarily support said succession of separate segments, the portions of said closure webs that are on the discontinuous web section extending between said transverse slits or notches whereby said separate segments of said discontinuous web section may be separately lifted to separately peel associated closure webs from said continuous web section to thereby separate them and expose the portions of their pressure-sensitive adhesive faces which were in contact with said continuous web section while continuing to shield the portions which temporarily remain in contact with said separate segments of said discontinuous web section.
 5. Pressure-sensitive fastener storage and dispensing means according to claim 4, wherein said closure webs are spaced from each other along said carrier web.
 6. Pressure-sensitive fastener storage and dispensing means according to claim 5, wherein said closure webs are spaced from adjacent slits or notches. 